The Cribs return with ‘Never The Same’, the final single ahead of their new album Selling A Vibe, dropping this Friday, January 9th.
It’s been over five years since the Wakefield trio released a full-length record. This track feels like a beautiful, unexpected return to form. There’s something unmistakably original Cribs about it. Stripped back, no nonsense, just pure indie pop.
Guitarist Ryan Jarman describes the approach as “a throwback to our original approach: trim all the fat, bring it in as short as possible and keep out of the way… streamlined. Stylish.” Lyrically, it explores feeling like a different person now, missing the chaos of who you used to be even when going back wouldn’t make sense anymore. He calls it almost paradoxical, and he’s right.
The song’s origin story is brilliant. Bassist Gary Jarman reveals they wrote it the evening they returned home from Louis Tomlinson’s Away From Home festival in Italy. The night before, they’d been talking with Tomlinson’s manager about potentially writing or producing tracks for his next album. Upon returning to Wakefield, they got to work and banged this out fully formed in a couple of hours.
“And then we became attached to it and decided to keep it for ourselves,” Gary explains. “I think that the freedom of conceiving it for someone else just meant that we didn’t overthink anything, and just got straight to the point. So yeah, in an alternate timeline it could’ve been a Louis song.”
The video, shot on 8mm film during their US tour in San Diego, was directed entirely by the brothers. Ryan, who recently made a video for Exclamation Pony, shot most of the footage while Gary handled the editing. They wanted something candid and honest, and that’s exactly what they delivered.
Selling A Vibe was produced by Patrick Wimberly (Solange, MGMT, Lil Yachty), marking a deliberate step away from rock producers they’ve previously worked with like Steve Albini and Ric Ocasek. The aim was enhancing the pop element of their sound while breaking new ground entirely.
After 20 years together, The Cribs aren’t chasing past glories. They’re releasing music only when they have something genuine to contribute. On ‘Never The Same’, they absolutely do.
